Make those algorithms work for you; not against you!

If you run an established Facebook business page, you will have almost certainly noticed that getting people to engage with (like, comment, or share) your posts has got a bit more difficult as time has gone on.

It’s easy to understand why: there is so much content on Facebook now that your posts can’t possibly reach all of your page followers. Think of how many posts by people and brands you scroll through every time you’re online!

It’s estimated that only 10% of your page followers will see one of your posts. That’s ten people in 100 even seeing your post, let alone engaging with it.

But Facebook’s algorithms favour showing pages whose posts have a good level of engagement.

So it’s particularly important that every post presents as something of potential value to your target audience – whether that’s by teaching them something, making them think or making them laugh.

How can you do this? Here are ten ways (in no particular order) to increase your engagement on your Facebook business page…

1) Post when your followers are online

Go to the “Insights” section on your Facebook business page. Along with a whole load of information about your followers and which posts are most popular, you can see the times your followers are most likely to be online.

Times can vary according to your target market (for example if you wanted mothers to see your post, many are online around the time of the school run while they’re waiting for their children to come out), but generally speaking most Facebook users are very active first thing in the morning, around lunchtime and after dinner.

Make sure you’re posting when your followers are online to see the post.

2) Include a “call to action”

If you want your audience to do something, you need to tell them to do it!

Try to include a call to action on as many of your posts as possible – whether it’s asking your audience to comment, share the post or click the link to that article on your website. Asking questions is also a great way to get a response from people:

3) Give people a laugh!

For the most part, you want your Facebook business page to produce posts which are informative, promote your business and add value to your customers.

However, it doesn’t need to be all “serious” – sharing funny posts is a great way to get engagement on your page, because who doesn’t love a giggle? It could be a cartoon related to your line of work….

…. or just something that made you laugh!

4) Respond to all comments

Make sure that you “like” every comment on your posts, and respond with a comment of your own. But make it a genuine, meaningful comment; not one of those bloody fire emojis! 🔥

Not only does this literally increase levels of engagement on your page and therefore make your posts more likely to be seen in people’s news feeds; it builds a relationship with people who might be your future customers – and retains a relationship with existing ones!

5) Use Facebook Live

Yes, it’s can seem scary, but the more you do it, the easier it will become!

Facebook Live is one of the social media platform’s most recent offerings. It’s worth doing because:

Followers can get an idea of the person behind the brand and feel more of a connection with you

People LOVE videos and are more likely to engage with posts featuring them than any other type of content

Facebook’s algorithms favour pages which use Facebook Live, so you’ll be more likely to appear in people’s news feeds.

6) Post on a regular basis. But not all the time.

The beast that is Facebook ultimately wants you to be on the platform day and night, only stopping for sleep and wee breaks.

But don’t post just for the sake of posting. Your followers want valuable content, and they’d rather see that a few times a week than token content that doesn’t connect with them several times a day.

7) Study your audience

Go back to your page Insights. There is a lot of information that can help you determine what and when to post.

If you select the “Posts” tab, you can see the levels of engagement on each of your previous posts. Take 10 minutes to look through this carefully – are there certain types of posts that are getting more likes or comments than others? It might be that you want to post more posts of that kind.

I’m based in Perth, which is where the largest percentage of my page followers are also based, but close behind in second and third place are followers in Sydney and Brisbane.

Why does it help to know this?

Firstly it makes me think harder about the times I’m posting things, because of the time difference between Western Australia and New South Wales/Queensland.

Secondly, I can serve my audience on that side of the country by letting them know about events, products and services local to them. I’m adding value by informing them about something they may be interested in.

I recently promoted the art exhibition of my online friend ALW Clarke which was taking place in Sydney. I would have loved to have gone – that woman has serious talent!

8) Engage with the posts of other businesses

This one is half goodwill, half good karma. 😉

I’m ALL about supporting small businesses. You know that phrase “When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a happy dance?” Totally true.

The goodwill part: Help your fellow business owners by liking, sharing and commenting on their posts, so they too can benefit from the Facebook algorithms and get noticed by a whole new audience.

The good karma part: If you engage with someone’s post on their business page, it’s likely that they’ll engage with yours.

I’m now part of an unofficial group of small business owners (special shout out to my online pals Astara Creative, Top Teacher and Jane McKay Communications!) who routinely engage with each other’s Facebook posts. Some are even technically my competitors! But there’s room for everyone, and we all want to see each other succeed. So we champion each other by taking the time to like and leave a comment on their posts.

9) Keep it visual

This one is well known by most people but it’s worth reminding people – keep it visual. When writing a post, include an image or video.

Facebook users are much more drawn to posts visual content than posts with just text.

Remember all that content you scroll through when you’re on Facebook? You’ve got to have something visual there to grab the attention of your followers.

10) Show a bit of the person behind the business

I have an amazing client, dietitian Jessica Ruescher, who is a little bit shy when it comes to showing the person behind the business – because the modest person she is finds it hard to believe that people will be interested.

I often give her a friendly nudge to take a photo of what she’s been up to at work, or to take a selfie while she’s doing something cool.

Because here’s the thing: people are more likely to invest in a service or product if they feel a connection with the business they’re buying from.

Jess once sent me a little bit of text and a picture of an apple from her mum’s place in Harvey. An apple with scratches on. It wasn’t pretty.

But people LOVED the message! Not only did Jess reveal a bit of her country roots and what she liked to eat for breakfast; she explained why that apple was just as good as any other apple. Double the value! The posts’ engagement and subsequent reach was off the charts, and the same post became a Top Post on Instagram.

It was the same for me when I published this post:

Get personal. You don’t have to share your whole life, but don’t be afraid to show your audience the kind of person they’re buying from.

Need some help with your Facebook business page?

I can help you create the perfect content strategy for your business. Contact me for more information.

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